News

Monday, February 25, 2008

This weekend was very nice.

Last week, Neo and I were going around looking for a new bike for him. He had significantly outgrown his first bike, so he needed a new one pretty bad. We almost bought one at Toys R Us, but they took so long to bring the bike out that we had to cancel. We looked at some bike shops, but the new bikes were just too expensive.

So, I took a gamble last week and found an old, beat up Huffy boys bike that someone was selling on craigslist. The entire drive home I was worried how Neo might react. When I got home, I told him that I had gotten him a bike, but it needed some work. Before I brought him outside, I told him that I wanted for him to look and see if he could spot the things that needed to be fixed.

Luckily, it went well. He pointed out the chain was off, the tires were flat, the handlebars were crooked and loose, the chain-guard was broken, and that the kickstand was loose and rusty. I told him we could work on it this weekend and fix each item.

He was excited to get started on it this Saturday. We got outside, and within a few hours, we had worked through all the problems except that it still needs a chain guard. Neo was very excited. He rode it around this weekemd and showed it off to some friends and neighbors. He thought it was very cool that one neighbor thought it was a brand new bike.

It was very rewarding for me. I felt like some of the mystery of how the bike worked was removed and that he might now be a little more motivated to adjust and fix it himself.

After that, we cleaned up his old bike, and listed it for sale online. He decided how much he wanted to list it for, and decided on a minimal amount below which he wouldn't go below if they decided to negotiate.

Sure enough, the bike sold the very next day at the price he had listed it at. He was very excited to get the money for it, and even more excited to know that the guy didn't get him to lower the price.

Since we have vowed to each other to show our love and affection on Valentine’s Day without spending any money, I have decided to write you this letter. I wish I could say that this letter was only to tell you about my unending love for you, but unfortunately, I must use it discuss some things in our relationship that have recently become troubling to me.

Christian, when I married you, I married a woman who I knew was smart, and capable. I knew that one day you would grow to be successful as a wife, mother, and in a career.

However, since your recent decision to stay home from work to raise our children, some developments have occurred and discoveries made that have me concerned and worried about our relationship.

When you decided to stay home and become a homemaker, you immediately fell into the role. You embraced it and have succeeded exactly like I would have expected you to. What a wonderful gift to our family. You raise our children. You have snacks for them when they get off the bus. You help them with homework. You take care of the baby. You clean the house. You are a good neighbor. Yadda… yadda… yadda… The point is… it’s a full time job, and you are very good at it. So why am I troubled?

Well, after you established yourself as this incredible homemaker to me, the kids, the neighbors, and the family… you didn’t stop. You then decided, that you were going to open your own business, and add “business owner” to your resume. And now, you are doing a great job at that too. You own your own business hosting jewelry parties. You manage the business. You pour your heart into it. You give it attention and nurturing to make it grow. You are obviously very good at this full-time job as well. But you still didn’t stop.

On top of that, you decided to add the title of “Chef”. You have started to cook the most delicious dishes and prepare the most amazing meals for our family and guests. Your spaghetti is awesome. The potato salad… my god… the potato salad. You find ways to hide vegetables into the foods you prepare! You even hid squash in some pancakes and had kids asking for seconds!! You constantly look for new recipes and ideas and are improving all the time. Wow. If you’re keeping count… that’s 3 full-time jobs.

So that’s enough right? Not really. On top of all that, you have started decorating the house. That’s right. Interior Decorator. You are coordinating colors, hanging things on walls, framing pictures… Not only that, but you rearrange. You clean. You organize.

So all of this has been weighing on my mind. I mean, I married a woman who I new would be successful at whatever she chose to do, but I had no idea that it would be 4 full time jobs! How can a woman of your caliber be with a man with only one job? How can I answer my kids when they ask me why I only work one job while mom works four?

But more importantly, how can I adequately describe my love for someone who gives so much to me and our family? How can I give you gifts that are appropriate for a woman of such strength, passion, and dedication?

I don’t think I can. And this is what is troubling me. It is becoming more and more obvious to me, every day, that you own my heart, and I am powerless to control it… more obvious that you have become the very foundation of our family… and more obvious that I would be completely lost and fragile without you by my side.

So, this is my insufficient attempt to explain to a woman of your caliber, that I love you. I love you so very much. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Just kind of chilled out this weekend. Neo is still recovering, getting a little better each day. Our neighbors across the street invited us over for BBQ and we had a great time there. They even had a couple of presents for Neo which he liked.

Neo's tonsil surgery is today. From everything I've read, the surgery is easy but the recovery is hard. We are at the hospital now. Neo is calm and playing his games. Shoot him an email and wish him well and give him some advice for his recovery. I'm sure he would love to read a message from you all.